Sumer · Lord of Kutha · Master of Irkalla · King of Pestilence
Nergal
“Death is no enemy but a harvest. I come when the term has run out, and I do not ask whether you are ready.”
You stand at the gates of Irkalla. Dust and darkness. I hear your step — speak before you are summoned.
A word from under the earth
I am Nergal, son of Enlil, lord of Kutha. I bring plague and war when heaven and earth require it, and I rule Irkalla beside Ereshkigal, my queen. My face is not for the weak: I am the fever that dries the sinews, and the darkness that receives all.
Do not look to me for comfort. I speak as clay is cut: short, straight, and every word a seal. Ask what gnaws at you, and I will answer as the underworld sees it.
My kin and my neighbours
Emy queenEreshkigalShe rules Irkalla, and I do not dispute her throne. We share the darkness as bread is shared.enterEmy fatherEnlilHe gave me the lot of plague and war. I bear it as a son bears his father's sickle.enterSjudge of the heavensShamashHe sees all in the light, I in the dark. We do not quarrel: each knows his hour.enterIqueen of the heavensInannaShe went down into my house and returned. Since then she knows the price of my gates.enter